Useful
by ItsAFunnyThing
Summary: A girl grapples with losing her childhood home, but ends up gaining something far more profound: a mysterious book hiding in a secret compartment in her house.
1. Chapter 1

Useful

1

Jo was moving today. She was staring out her widow, looking out at her extensive front yard. She was sitting on top of a box that held most of her clothes. She couldn't cry. She had spent the last few months crying herself to sleep ever since her father had told her the news. Jo loved her house and its warm, cozy rooms; she loved the creaky, winding staircase that led up to her room in the attic. Jo had four other siblings, and all were currently sharing rooms, so, being the middle child, she had volunteered to sleep in the attic. She didn't mind it. In fact, she quite enjoyed it. It was an escape. It was a good place to go when you didn't want anyone to find you. She could think and not be disturbed by anything or anyone.

Jo sat looking out her one semicircular window, lost in thought, letting the sunset pour onto her pale face. She then looked back at all the boxes that filled her room. They were filled with countless memories; dolls from her childhood, pictures of herself and friends, toys and books and everything that was her life. This house and this place was her life. She was born here. She couldn't leave without leaving most of herself along with it.

"Excuse me, miss." Jo looked up. It was the moving men come to take the boxes to the truck.

"Can we start in here now?" he said. "—Or do you want a few more minutes?" he said, with obvious disinterest.

"Sure, you can start." said Jo, and stood up from her box of clothes. Then proceeded to walk down the creaky, winding staircase that she loved so dearly and sat down on the floor in the middle of their large living room. She looked around the room, swiveling around in her spot to take in the whole room. This room used to be the life of the house. She could still picture her father sitting at the desk in the corner, scratching his head as he looked, perplexed, at his laptop. She could see her mother playing with the twins, Mark and Minnie, the youngest in the family; she would pretend to take their noses and eat them as they would shriek with laughter. She could see her older brother, Jake, sitting on the couch, watching TV, and throwing his baseball at the ceiling; it would bounce off, and he'd catch it again. And she could see her sister, Angela, the oldest, drawing on her notepad, sitting on her chair near the window. But now the room was empty, and it felt cold and unfamiliar. Now there were dark squares on the wallpaper where pictures used to be, and large patches of dust where the furniture had been. Looking around the room, Jo felt as though a place in her heart had been erased, as if none of the memories she had made in this room mattered.

She got up and ran her fingers along the old wallpaper; it was made of fabric, not actual paper. It used to be a bright, cheery orangey color, but it was now faded into a faint beige. Jo's fingernail snagged on a thread as she was walking. She turned around to untangle it and realized there was a small crease in the fabric. She had never noticed that before. She took her nail and rubbed up and down the crease, and realized that it was in the shape of a small rectangle. _Probably from a picture frame or something_, she thought. But it was still curious; she didn't remember a picture frame ever being there, and there was no dark spot on the wall, like all the other places where pictures used to be. On any other day, Jo probably would have dismissed this completely, not wanting to start a fuss, but her curiosity got the best of her. She took her house key from her pocket and ran it along the perimeter of the crease, making it deeper, and a more distinguishable rectangle. _Yes, there is something here!_ She thought, getting excited. She started rubbing the key along the crease, trying to cut the fabric. She kept rubbing harder and harder until… _RRRRIP_! The fabric tore at the crease. Jo then got very excited and started to work the rest of the sides until it was clear to her that there was definitely something there besides wall. _Lucky we're moving,_ Jo thought,_ or my mom would be so pissed_. Jo put her key back in her pocket and stared at her handiwork. The rectangle was about six inches wide and three inches tall. Jo put her fingers in the crevasses on each side of the box and pulled. Nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. She tried wiggling it. Even more nothing.

"Oh, come on! All that for nothing?" Jo shouted at the box, now angry that she had ruined the wall for nothing. She punched it in with her fist. To her surprise, it was shoved inward slightly, making a small click. She stared at it, wide-eyed, getting excited again. She pushed it in again…_click. _She tried a third time…_click._ She tried again, but it wouldn't budge. Then suddenly, the box sprang from the wall, causing Jo to jump back.

"Oh, my God," she said, heart pounding loudly in her ears. She walked up to it slowly and cautiously peered inside. In the drawer was a book. Jo carefully took it out, examined the rest of the drawer, but there was nothing else inside. She looked at the book again. It was a fairly small book, it was just bigger than her hand, and it was bound in worn blue paper. She turned it over to the front cover. The words were embossed in slightly chipped gold leaf, but Jo could still see them plainly; there were three: _The Useful Book_.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Jo was still reeling from what had happened as her parent's van drove down their long driveway and out onto the road. But she wasn't stunned enough not to take one last look at her beloved house as they drove down until it was just a speck in the distance.

Jo had hid the book from her family. She didn't want to cause any more anxiety than what there already was. She tucked it away safe in her large duffel bag before she had gone. And the duffel bag was now going to remain at her side at all times. She felt that what she had found was too special to her, and the only part of her house with her that had been there before she had. Jo was sitting in the very back of the family's large van, squished between the twins in their car seats. Only when she was sure that they were fast asleep did she dare take the book out._ That's a very straightforward title, _The Useful Book_, I wonder who wrote it_ she thought. She turned the book over to see its stem, but there was nothing on it but the title again, embossed in gold leaf. She then tried to open it, but it wouldn't open. _Well great._ She thought, annoyed._ That's not really very useful, is it?_ Then she got very angry that this mysterious and supposedly "useful" book couldn't even open when she wanted it to. She kept trying for what seemed like ages, trying to use her keys to pry it open. She gave up after a while and examined the book. It hand no lock, just like any regular book, but it still wouldn't open. It didn't even show signs that she had tried to open it, just the normal wear she had seen when she found it. She decided to give up and put it back in her bag. She then sat back in her seat and looked out the window. Yet she couldn't get that book out of her mind. She kept thinking about it until the sky became dark and the hum of the van's motor lulled her to sleep.

"WAKE UP JOJO!" shouted the twins in unison. Jo woke with a start only to discover the twins had used markers to draw lines all over her arms while she was asleep.

"Minnie! Mark! Hey!" Jo looked at her arms with irritation.

"It wasn't me!" lied Mark, "Minnie made me!"

"Did not! It was your idea" Minnie cried back.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was NOT!" They continued to argue until they were both on the verge of tears and their mom yelled at them from the front.

"Both of you stop! We're here." They had pulled up into a large driveway that led to the biggest house Jo had ever seen.

"Well? What do you think?" asked her dad, grinning ear to ear.

"Harry, its fantastic." Said her mother, staring at the house incredulously. The family climbed out of the car, stretching their sore muscles.

"I call first pick of rooms!" shouted Angela, and ran into the house.

"Uh, no way," yelled Jake, playfully pushing her aside. They both sprinted upstairs. The twins squirmed in their car seats, itching to get out and see their house. Jo slowly walked up to the front door. She could still hear Jake and Angela fighting over the biggest room. Jo had to admit, the house was amazing. It had a large, spacious foyer, which opened up into the high-ceilinged living room. On the other side it opened into a hallway that led to a spacious kitchen. And just opposite the front door was a staircase that led up to the second floor. Jo walked up the stairs, with her duffel bag safely hung over her shoulder. On the second floor was a long hallway, and at the end, was a huge window that showed the entire backyard. Jo walked up to it and stared out. Their backyard was truly amazing. In the light of the sunset, it stretched for what seemed like forever. Just beyond the trees that showed the border of their property, was the shore of a sparkling lake.

"Wow," said Jo, unable to come up with another adjective to describe it.

"I know, right?" said her mother, who had come upstairs to claim the master bedroom before the twins could get to it. "You'd better go find a good room. It looks like your brother and sister have already chosen theirs."

"Right." Jo looked back at the hallway. There were six doors that ran along the hallway. Jo chose the one closest to her on the right.

"Too late!" came her brother's voice from inside the closet. Then he ran out and shut the door in Jo's face. She pounded once on the door with her fist. Then she tried the door to her left. Luckily, it was unoccupied. Jo looked around the room. It was square and plain, but it had a huge floor-to ceiling window on its far left wall with the same view as the one in the hall.

"Perfect." Jo then went back to work on trying to open _The Useful Book_. But when she tried again, it still wouldn't open. This time she got frustrated, and threw it against the wall. It bounced off and hit the floor with a thud much too big for a book that small. _Whoa,_ she thought, and went to pick the book up to see if it was any heavier. But it was still the same small book that weighed about as much as you would expect a book like that to weigh. She turned it over in her hands. Apparently her frustrated outburst had not damaged the book at all.

She put the book back in her duffel and started to unpack. The moving men wouldn't be getting there until tomorrow, so Jo's parent's had told everyone to pack anything they would need for an overnight trip. Jo continued to unpack her things and set up her sleeping bag for the night when her mother walked in.

"Well, I see you found your room."

"Uh huh."

"So, as you know, the moving men come tomorrow to set everything up, so try to plan out where you want all your stuff. Oh, and I know you're going to hate me for this, but… you're starting school on Monday."

"What? But it's Thursday right now! You're barely giving me enough time to breathe in this house!" Jo exclaimed.

"I know, I know. Your brother and sister gave me the same reaction, but the school here starts earlier than the one back in Georgia. We're in Vermont now, we have to get used to it."

"Yeah." Said Jo, dejected, and went back to her unpacking. Then she thought, _screw it_, and stood up, picked up her bag, and dumped out the rest of its contents on the floor. A toothbrush, a few books, and her flip-flops fell out, however the air mattress seemed determined to stay in its new home. So she put the bag on the floor and tugged on the mattress. After a few moments, it was free and she proceeded to blow it up. Once everything was done, she glanced back at _The Useful Book _and decided to go pick it up again and try to get it open. She kept trying and trying, but still it proved futile. She then decided to just give up and try to get through the next few days.


	3. Chapter 3

3

The days leading up to her fist day of school flew by as Jo and her family unpacked and started getting used to their new lives. However, Jo was not eager to go to school. She had never been very good at first impressions. On the first day of kindergarten, Jo had made three people cry, including the teacher, and she still didn't know what she had done wrong. But she promised herself to hold her head high and try to show her family she could handle being in this new place.

On Monday, however, Jo forgot her promise and felt like letting her whole family know about her severe disgruntlement with going to school just days after they had arrived in a whole new state.

"But it's ridiculous!" she shouted, "Can't I just wait, maybe, a week?"

"Look, we're just afraid you'll miss too much." said her mother, clearly holding back her frustration. "Besides, the decision has been made. Your new teachers are expecting you." Jo breathed a heavy sigh and pouted.

"You know, Jojo, you could lay off a little." Said Jake from across the breakfast table, stuffing his face with scrambled eggs. Jo glared at him. "I'm just saying. Mom and Dad just don't want you getting too behind."

"Oh, you should talk! Your stupid boy's school doesn't start for another two weeks!" Jo got up from the table and stormed out of the kitchen.

"You're not going to finish breakfast?" said her mother.

"Just give it to Jake!" Jo shouted back, and walked up the stairs and into her room to change.

The way to school was no less irritating for Jo, as her mother drove her and the twins to school in their smallest car, and she was crammed in the backseat with the twins on either side of her and her backpack on her lap.

Jo hated the notion of being the new kid. She had been the new kid only once before, and it was not anything she was eager to experience again. As they drove up to the front of the school, Jo's stomach was doing somersaults. The building was a huge two-story brick cube, with two huge blue steel columns holding up a large sign that read _Northern State Preparatory School_ in big, white letters. There were two sets of large glass doors in the front, with a bunch of kids standing around them. And as they pulled up to the front of the building, Jo's anxiety just got worse.

"All right, Jo, Angela," Her mother turned around in the driver's seat. "Good luck, guys."

"Yeah, I'm sure as hell gonna need it." muttered Jo under her breath. She wriggled her way out from between the twins. "Bye, Mom."

"BYE JOJO AND ANGIE!" shouted the twins in unison as they waved enthusiastically in their car seats.

"Bye guys." said Angela. And, turning to Jo, said, "Well, no use stalling. I might see you at lunch. See ya." With that, they both marched reluctantly on towards the front doors.

Jo looked at her class roster. She had a couple weeks before she could choose electives, so she had three study halls. _Not that that's a bad thing_, she thought. It would give her some time to get used to this new school. She looked at the top: _Homeroom: Mrs. Stallner: Room 512._ She walked in, hoping to find the room. Soon the bell rang, and she was still looking for room 512. _Come _on, _this school is a freaking labyrinth! _she thought. She finally found it, a good five minutes after the bell. The teacher had been waiting.

"Well, thank you for finally joining us," said Mrs. Stallner.

"Sorry, I got lost, I'm new," said Jo timidly.

"Oh, that's all right, What's your name?"

"Jo, Jo Wheaton."

"Well, Miss Wheaton, I was just about to explain the new electives. Take a seat next to Michaela. She's been here since preschool. She can help you with getting around."

"Thanks." Jo sat down next to the girl she gestured to. She was very tall, even though she was sitting down. She had dark olive skin, and even darker hair pinned back with large green clip. She was wearing large golden hoops in her ears; a black shirt that looked like it had been splattered with neon colored paint, and a short green frilly skirt. And on her feet were the highest heels Jo had ever seen. Next to her, Jo looked pretty plain in her t-shirt and jeans.

"Hey!" said Michaela enthusiastically.

"Hey," Jo said, looking down.

"Oh, don't be nervous, I don't bite. Much." As she laughed, her gold hoops jingled. "No, its totally cool. Lemme see your roster." She grabbed it out of Jo's hand before she had a chance to react.

"I have a lot of study halls," Jo said stupidly. _Wow. Let's be more obvious_, she thought.

"Yeah you do. Haven't you picked any electives yet?"

"No, we just moved here a few days ago. I didn't have time to finish unpacking, let alone choose school electives."

"Rough. Oh, you got Mr. Reed for English! Me too! He's awesome. But you got Ms. Gruber for History. She's like 60 years old and never been married. But it's no surprise; she's a total b—"

"Girls," said Mrs. Stallner, "don't make me regret putting you two together."

"I was just helping her with her roster," said Michaela.

"Well I—" Mrs. Stallner was interrupted by the bell.

"Well, we've got English now, but we've got like five minutes, so let me show you your locker." Michaela grabbed Jo's arm, whisked her down the hall, and turned right. "Here ya go! Locker 315."

"Oh, thanks so much. You're being so nice, I really wish I could help you out somehow…" started Jo.

"Oh, no, its totally cool! I'm just a few lockers down if you need anything else!" The bell rang. "Hurry, put the stuff you don't need in your locker, then we can head to English together." Jo dumped most of her backpack into her locker and Michaela grabbed her arm again and rushed her down the hall to English.

The day continued like this until her last class, which happened to be a study hall. Although it was the first day, Jo had still been given homework, but had finished it all in her first two study halls. She had just sat there for the first five minutes with nothing to do; Michaela had already chosen all her electives, so there was no one to talk to. But then Jo remembered something. She had put _The Useful Book_ in her backpack just in case. She took it out as discreetly as she could. She placed it on her desk and put her hand on the front cover, not expecting anything different. But to her immense surprise, the cover gave no resistance. It opened.

Jo looked around. Everyone around her was working quietly, texting, or whispering to each other. She looked back at the book. She turned past the few first blank pages to the title page. There was the title in the same font as the front cover. She turned the page. There was a note, but it was not in print, it was hand-written in small, neat handwriting:

To Whom It May Concern,

By opening this book you have thrust upon yourself the responsibilities and challenges of owning it. You have probably realized that simply opening this book was a challenge itself. It was simply testing you, and you have clearly passed. This book is of no Evil, and apparently neither are you, dear reader. Don't be fooled, however. This wielding a book of this power is no small task. But merely opening this book shows that you have something inside you that no one else has; you are special.

Sincerely,

A Friend

Jo stared at the letter. She read it again. How could owning a book be a "challenge"? And how could a book, an inanimate object, "judge" someone? While she was pondering this, she became aware that she was being watched.

"Hey, new girl, what'cha reading?" said the figure behind her. Jo turned around. Standing behind her, watching her read, was a boy of about her age, who immediately snatched the book out of her hands.

"Hey!" Jo exclaimed, and reached for her book. She grabbed it right back from him. "And I don't see how what I'm reading is any of your business,"

"It can be," he said, leaning towards her. "Just curious. Hey, what's your name?"

"Well, it's not 'new girl' just so you know. And I don't really see how that's any of your business either." answered Jo defiantly. The bell rang, and Jo carefully placed the book back into her backpack. She headed out of the classroom, heading down the hall to her locker. Michaela was waiting for her.

"Hey! So, how was your first day? Meet anyone else?" she asked. Before Jo could answer, she saw the boy heading down the hall towards them.  
"Hey, wait up!" he called.

"Ugh." Jo groaned and tried to hide behind her locker door. But he had already seen her.

"Oh, I see you've met Nate, the school's designated douche." Michaela turned around and addressed him. "What do you want, Nate?"

"Nothing, just want to know the new girl's name, is all." Jo pretended to be very engrossed in putting her books away, not looking at him.

"Well, she doesn't want to tell you, so why don't you just scurry along." Michaela said, shooing him away.

"Alright, fine," said Nate, stopping on the other side of Jo. "But I will find out somehow." He turned on his heel and walked down the hall.

"Ugh. Just stay away from him. Believe me, he is nothing but trouble." said Michaela. Jo closed her locker, and the two headed down the hall, back towards the front doors.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Jo sat on her bed, staring at the note in The Useful Book, reading it over and over again. She couldn't make sense of it. She turned to the next page. It was blank. She turned to the next page. It was blank as well. _Odd, _She thought, _Not very 'useful'_. She continued to flip through the book, turning over page after page, but it was completely blank. She turned the book over and flipped to the very last page, hoping to find instructions, but it was all blank. She closed the book and held it to her forehead, hoping that maybe something would happen.

"Alright." She said "Come on, book. I need you to say something. Anything. I need _something_ to happen or else I'm throwing you away. I need this. OW!" the book had suddenly become blazing hot. She threw it on the floor. As it fell, it opened to the very first page after the note, and these words grew clearer and clearer until Jo could read them:

Something is only useful when it is needed.

Then the words faded away as quickly as they had come. _Oh,_ thought Jo, _that's why it was blank before. _All she had to do was to really need the book, and it would help her. She picked it up. It was normal temperature, so she held on to it.

"Alright, book. I see what you mean. But how the hell am I supposed to know when I will 'absolutely need' you? Stupid thing—OW!" The book had suddenly become hot again, and she had dropped it. "Hey! You did that on purpose!" she rubbed her hand where it had burned her. Then she stopped and sat on her bed. _Oh my God I am talking to a book, _She thought._ Oh well, I guess stranger things have happened._ She picked upthe book and placed it on her desk. _I guess I don't need it tonight_, she thought, and went to bed.

The next few days continued the same way. Jo would go to school, avoid Nate, come home, and try to get the book to do something, to no avail. The only thing it would do is suddenly become scalding hot and show her the same message over and over again. It was getting old. One day, she just became fed up and yelled at the book; this did not help either. So she gave up, threw the book in a drawer and tried doing homework. But that message just swirled around in her head: _something is only useful if it is absolutely needed_. It kept her from concentrating. This was not helpful, seeing as she had a history test the next day. _Just concentrate, _she thought, _come on, World War Two, I got this, I have to concentrate. I _need _to concentrate. THUMP. _

"What the hell? Jake, are you throwing your baseball at my wall again? Jake?" she started. _THUMP. _"Seriously, Jake, I have to study, would you quit it?"

"He's outside, honey!" shouted her mom from downstairs. _THUMP THUMP. _Her drawer moved. _THUMP THUMP THUMP_. With each thump, the drawer scooted out a little more. Jo opened it slowly. _The Useful Book_ flew out of the drawer and onto her desk. Its cover blew open to a random page. Jo grabbed the book carefully, but it wasn't hot. As she touched the book, a jolt of energy flew up threw her arms and engulfed her whole body.

"Whoa," she said. As she was reeling back from the jolt of energy, she saw a few lines burn themselves into the pages of the book. They were written in a strange language, but for some reason, Jo knew exactly what to say. She read the words out loud, each syllable feeling warm and strong, like each word was accessing a power Jo could never have imagined and bending it to her will. Once she was finished, the book fell from her hands, and Jo collapsed onto her desk.

The next morning, Jo woke up in her bed, more groggy than usual. She looked at her alarm clock. Her eye widened as she realized she would be extremely late if she weren't out the door in the next six minutes.

"Crap!" Jo threw on some jeans, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and grabbed her homework from her desk, not forgetting the book, of course, and rushed downstairs. She grabbed some toast off her father's breakfast plate, and rushed out the door in time to catch her sister, about to leave the driveway.

"The 'beadhead' look isn't for you, sis." Said Angela, smirking. Jo didn't respond; she was still thrown by what had happened last night. She stayed silent through the entire car ride. When she finally got to school and found her locker, Michaela was waiting for her.

"Hey! Yikes, you need a hairbrush."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Anyway, you ready for that History test?" Michaela said as the bell rang for Homeroom. Michaela headed off and Jo followed her.

"Oh my God! I tried to study last night, but—" Jo stopped. She wasn't sure if she should tell Michaela, or even if she would believe her if she did. "Something, uh, else got in the way."

"That sucks. It shouldn't be too hard though," Michaela said, but Jo caught the hesitation in her voice. Jo just stayed silent and walked with her to Mrs. Stallner's room. Over the next few periods, Jo couldn't pay attention. _What happened last night?_ She wondered. Then it was time for History. _Oh well, here goes nothing. _

She sat down at her desk, the test already turned over on it. The teacher told them to turn it over, and she started. She put her name at the top. _Well, least I spelled my name right. That's gotta count for something._ But then something overcame her. The same energy she felt last night seemed to be taking over her whole body. She whipped through the test, completely unaware of what she was doing, not in control of her own actions. By the time she was done, even with the essay question, only thirty minutes had gone by. She sat there, wide-eyed.

"Are you okay?" whispered the girl next to her.

"No talking!" called the teacher from his desk.

"I'm—I'm fine." Jo blinked. She walked over to the teacher's desk, handed in her test, asked for a hall pass, then ran to her locker. She stopped for a second and leaned her forehead up against the cold metal. She had to cool down. She was exhausted. Something had sapped her of her energy completely. She opened her locker to find _The Useful Book_ sitting there, right where she had left it. She picked it up. It was warm in her hands, pulsating, as though it were alive. _Okay, well that's just ridiculous. This book is not alive._ She was about to put it down and head back to class when she heard footsteps. She turned around. _Oh, crap._ It was Nate.

"That must be a pretty exciting book you got there." he said, walking up to her.

"Look, Nate, I really don't have time for this. I've got to get back to class." She placed the book back inside her locker and tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm.

"Hey!" she said, yanking herself loose, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry. Look, I just want to know your name. C'mon, you know mine. It's only fair." He flashed her sideways smile.

"If it'll get you off my case, my name is Jo. Happy now?" Jo tuned on her heel and walked back towards her class.

"Joe? Are you serious? If you're going to lie to me, at least try a little." Nate said, following her. Jo turned around, now furious.

"It's Jo. Spelled J-O. It's short for Joanna, dumbass." She fumed. Then she turned around and headed down the hall back to class. _Idiot! God! Right after something really incredible happens, he has to show up and make everything worse! _She slumped back in her chair in History class, suddenly remembering how exhausted she was. She still could not believe what had happened. She had needed to pass this History test, then the book had somehow known, and shown her what to do. _It had to be. But that's insane! Yet again, there's no other explanation. It was magic._ Jo smirked at herself for even thinking that was a possibility, but there was no other way something that incredible could have happened. She had to tell someone. She could tell her mother, but, being a psychologist, Jo's mother would just say it was some sort of coping mechanism to deal with move. The twins would probably believe her, but they would just see it as a fun game or a story. She had to tell Michaela. She had been her friend from the very start, helping her get used a new town, new school, and even helping her avoid Nate. She was a good friend; she would know what to do. So, after school, Jo met Michaela by her locker.

"Hey, you wanna come over today? My mom can pick us up," asked Jo sheepishly. She had only known Michaela for a couple of weeks, so she was scared to know what she would say, but they did have a lot in common.

"Sure! Sounds fun!" said Michaela. "I was actually going to ask for a ride home today anyway, so this is perfect!"

"Oh, Good!" said Jo, feeling both relieved and excited. "I have to tell you something."


End file.
